


LAX to SYD

by iamagraveyard



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Airplane, Frerard, I don’t know if I will write any more of this, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24936868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamagraveyard/pseuds/iamagraveyard
Summary: Gerard gets stuck sitting next to Frank on a 16-hour plane ride.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 11
Kudos: 46





	LAX to SYD

Gerard tiredly shoves his carry-on suitcase into the overhead bin above his aisle-seat on the crowded airplane. He’s finally aboard the plane and ready for the long, direct flight to Australia where he’ll be attending an art conference being put on by the publishing company he works for. He sits down in his seat and checks his watch: only ten more minutes until the scheduled take-off time. He glances to his right and is pleased when he notices that the middle seat next to him is still unoccupied. He silently hopes that it will stay that way. All he wants during this flight is peace and quiet so he can get some work done on his tablet and catch up on lost sleep. 

Gerard is a well-known comic book writer and artist and a self-proclaimed “nerd.” He’s been pretty successful in his line of work and has had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented people in the business such as Grant Morrison who’s been Gerard’s hero ever since he was a kid reading comics with his younger brother, Mikey, who he now shares an apartment with. Being a private man who travels often and who’s very dedicated to his work, Gerard hasn’t had much opportunity to meet someone to branch out on his own with. He hasn’t even dated anyone in an entire year. Being single is not something Gerard focuses on—his work wins the majority of his focus—nor does it bother him very much. Settling down with someone is definitely something he’d like to do in the future, but right now it’s not really on his radar. He figures at twenty-eight years old he still has some time, and besides, he’s not ready to publicly come out as gay quite yet. 

Gerard suddenly feels his shoulder get bumped as some guy hoists his large backpack up and into the overhead bin above his seat. Mildly annoyed, Gerard looks up and sees this kid who looks to be in his early twenties standing on his tip-toes as he tries to shove his bag as far into the compartment as he can. When he finally gets his bag in and shuts the door to the compartment, the kid looks down and meets Gerard’s annoyed stare. 

This kid has a nose ring, a lip ring and stretched earlobe piercings which are each filled with black plugs. The sleeves of his black Thrice hoodie are rolled up revealing sleeves of tattoos, not to mention the black scorpion that’s tattooed high up on the right ride of his neck. The kid’s short, brown hair is probably the least interesting thing about his appearance.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me for the next sixteen hours,” the kid says with a smirk. “I’ve got the middle seat.”

Gerard’s heart sinks when he realizes that his hopes for an empty middle seat during this plane ride have just been squashed. “Great...” he says under his breath as he tucks his legs in so that the kid can squish past him to get to his seat.

As soon as this kid sits down he’s got his phone out and he’s chuckling at something on the screen. Gerard can’t help but to quickly glance over at the phone screen and he sees that the kid is text-messaging someone. The kid then puts his headphones over his ears and soon Gerard can hear electric guitar driven music pumping out of the speakers—like, he can literally hear every word the “singer” is saying. It’s more like screaming than singing, from what Gerard can hear, and it’s quickly raising his blood pressure. 

Gerard bites his lip and contemplates whether or not he should say something to this kid who’s currently in his own little world, continuing to laugh to himself every now and then as he intently stares down at his phone screen while his thumbs tap rapidly on the keyboard. Gerard looks over at the person on the other side of this kid and sees that they’re also wearing an annoyed expression on their face, so he decides to just say something, clearing his throat before speaking.

“Hey,” Gerard says, looking right at the kid, who doesn’t even seem to notice he’s being spoken to. “Hey,” he says, a bit louder this time as he nudges the guy in the side.

The kid looks over at Gerard and immediately pulls his headphones down so they’re sitting around his neck. “What’s up?” he asks.

Gerard fights the strong urge he has to roll his eyes at the kid’s apparent oblivion. “I can hear your music clearly through your headphones. Can you please turn it down?”

“Oh, sure, man—,” says the kid, lowering the volume on his phone the tiniest bit. 

Gerard just stares at the kid incredulously, unsure if he’s not able to hear that his music is still clearly audible to the people sitting beside him.

“You good?” the kid asks somewhat snarkily, widening his eyes a bit when he sees that Gerard’s still staring at him.

Gerard bites his lip again—he’s starting to see how this plane ride is gonna go and he’s definitely not loving it. 

“No, actually,” Gerard begins, “I can still hear it loud and clear...”

“Dude, I need my fuckin’ music turned up until after we take off—it helps with my anxiety,” the kid says, sounding irritated.

“Why don’t you just pop a Xanax like the rest of us?” asks Gerard. 

The kid looks offended and he puts his headphones back on and goes back to staring at his phone. Gerard swears he hears the volume of the music get louder again.

With his teeth set on edge, Gerard listens to the flight attendants explain the in-flight safety procedures while the kid sitting next to him continues to fuck around on his phone, completely ignoring everything that’s being said. Gerard silently decides that if there happens to be an emergency on-board, the kid’s on his own. 

Soon, the pilot introduces himself over the intercom and then announces take-off. The seatbelt lights become illuminated above the seats and Gerard buckles up. Gerard absolutely hates flying, too, but the meds he’d taken earlier are starting to kick in, so by the time the plane’s wheels are off the ground he’s feeling okay. After take-off, Gerard looks over to his right again at the kid sitting next to him. He notices that he’s taken his headphones off now and his eyes are still glued to his phone as he taps away with his thumbs. 

Grateful for the quietness, Gerard reaches underneath his seat and takes his tablet out of his bag before putting down the tabletop attached to the back of the seat in front of him. He stands up the device and opens the app he’s been using to work on his latest digital drawing. As he begins to draw, Gerard becomes so focused that he doesn’t even realize that the kid sitting next to him is watching him work until he takes a break to stretch out his hand and happens to look over and meet the kid’s intrigued stare. 

“Are you, like...some kind of art professor or something?” 

Gerard’s brow furrows as he continues to stretch out his hand. “Art _professor_? What makes you think I’m a _professor_?” he asks curiously, surprised at how personally he’s taking this assumption. 

The kid shrugs and looks at Gerard as if he should know exactly why he’s come to this conclusion. “Dude, you dress like you’re about to give me a failing grade in an art school illustration course. Like, come on: you’re wearing a waistcoat over a button-up shirt and a striped tie—are you seriously surprised?” 

Gerard looks down at his ensemble of clothing with quiet scrutiny. “I thought I looked pretty good in this outfit...”

The kid gives Gerard a little half-smile just as he looks up again. “Well, no shit,” he says casually as his eyes give Gerard a split-second long once-over. “I never said you didn’t.”

Gerard awkwardly clears his throat and adjusts his tie as he tries to determine if this kid had really just inadvertently told him that his outfit looks good on him. He’s not even acknowledging the part where the kid had given him the once-over because it all happened so fast that he’s not even sure if it was even real. 

“Well, uh...thanks for clearing that up,” Gerard says before immediately turning back to the screen.

“So...if you’re not an art professor, then what do you do?”

Gerard looks at the kid with a deadpan expression. “I’m an artist.”

“ _Oh_ ,” the kid says, his eyebrows raising as if he’s surprised to hear the response. “How come you dress so fuckin’... _straight_?”

Gerard nearly chokes on his own saliva. “Excuse me?” he asks, feeling his face getting hot with embarrassment. “What do you mean by that?”

The kid seems like he’s holding back a laugh as he replies. “I mean exactly what I said: you dress like you’re a fuckin’ straight guy.”

Gerard’s brow furrows and he does a quick look around, checking to make sure no one’s listening. “Are you seriously assuming my sexuality? Do I know you?”

The kid shrugs. “It’s not assuming if I’m right,” he says smugly. 

Gerard feels himself going redder in the face because this kid has him figured out after only five minutes of interacting with him. “You’re extremely fucking rude and this conversation’s over. Don’t try to talk to me again,” Gerard says firmly, turning back to the screen of his tablet and resuming working on his drawing.

For the next couple of hours Gerard draws and the kid minds his own business with his eyes glued to his phone. Soon, the flight attendants announce that dinner service is starting and Gerard puts his work away.

“Hey, can I get by?” the kid asks, poised to get up from his seat. 

Gerard looks at him and sees a hint of timidity in his eyes, sensing that he feels bad about what he’d said earlier. 

“Yeah,” says Gerard, tucking his legs in to allow the kid to squeeze past him and step out into the aisle. 

Gerard can’t help but notice that the kid had left his phone unlocked where it sits on the tabletop in front of his seat. He doesn’t want to be nosy, but at the same time he’s really curious as to what the fuck is on this kid’s phone that could keep him occupied for hours... He glances down at the screen and is shocked when he sees that it’s the Grindr app that’s been left open on the screen...


End file.
